Archive for October, 2013

California is demographically ahead of the curve: its Latino population has outpaced that of the rest of the country. So how have the institutions and culture adapted? Maria Hinojosa asks Kimberly Nalder of the Project for an Informed Electorate and Belinda Reyes of the Cesar Chavez Institute, and takes a few audience questions.

Kimberly Nalder is the director of the Project for an Informed Electorate and associate professor in the Department of Government at California State University Sacramento.

Formerly a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, Belinda Reyes is an authority on immigration policy and the social and economic progress of racial and ethnic groups in the United States and director of the Cesar Chavez Institute at San Francisco State University.

Peruvian-born author Daniel Alarcón brings us a story about cultural adaptation and breaking interracial taboos, called “The Forbidden Word”. The story was originally produced by Radio Ambulante, the Spanish-language storytelling radio program he runs. He talks with Maria Hinojosa about the project, and discusses his new novel, titled “At Night We Walk in Circles”, about a young Latin American actor traveling with an avant-garde theater group. Special thanks to Radio Ambulante’s Martina Castro.

DANIEL ALARCÓN is author of “War by Candlelight”, a finalist for the 2005 PEN-Hemingway Award, and “Lost City Radio”, named a Best Novel of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post, among others. His writing has appeared in McSweeney’s, n+1, and Harper’s, and he has been named one of The New Yorker’s 20 under 40. He lives in San Francisco, California.

About Radio Ambulante: Radio Ambulante is a Spanish-language radio program that tells Latin American stories from anywhere Spanish is spoken, including the United States.

This event was part of a series of free public Latino USA events on health in California.

PARTNER:Streamed throughout California and the Southwest on Radio Bilingüe

Listen to this powerful panel discussion and Q&A:

EVENT DESCRIPTION:

Who is responsible for the water that comes out of your tap? In California, thousands of people in dozens of communities have contaminated water with the potential to cause cancer, birth defects, and multiple health problems. The water is known to be unsafe to drink, yet families still pay for it—and often the cost is a significant portion of their income. These families then must drive miles to purchase bottled water to drink, and still must use the contaminated water for household purposes like bathing and washing dishes.

Last year, California signed legislation making access to water a human right—one of the only states in the nation to do so. Federal and state sources have dedicated billions of dollars to study the problems, build water treatment plants (although in small towns like Lanare, treatment plants close if they cost too much to operate), and explore the feasibility of local and regional solutions. Yet despite this funding, widespread problems of contaminated water continue in these communities. In Lanare, contamination is caused by naturally-occurring arsenic which leaches into well water. Lanare is a small, unincorporated town with a tiny population, and although its residents organized to address this problem, clean water is still out of their reach—despite potentially successful solutions.

Lanare is not alone-many small towns and communities have similar situations with contaminated water. It is often caused by California’s thriving agricultural industry. The Central Valley is the nation’s most productive farm belt and agriculture is the regional economic driver. This problem does not only affect homes, but community centers, public buildings, and schools – every time a young student takes a sip at the drinking fountain, there is the potential for exposure. So how can California towns solve this problem? Can better technology like water filtration systems solve problems of contamination? Or is it something that is only fixable by the government? Current legislation in the California Senate is designed to address this deeply entrenched problem by switching the administration of water from one government body to another—but, will this be effective? As a large number of the affected families are low-income and Latino, does the solution lie in community empowerment and development? Who is responsible to protect these families and provide them with safe, clean water? How will California realize the promises inherent in its promising 2012 Water Rights Act?

Join us for a public town hall on water and development, hosted by award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa, who has reported extensively on issues affecting Latino communities. Lanare and Beyond: A Town Hall on Water will shed light on the human impact of widespread water contamination, explore the short-term and permanent solutions, and engage residents, legislators, and other stakeholders in the Central Valley in a conversation about the right to clean water.

Dr. John Capitman brings an extensive background in research and is nationally renowned for his work in health disparities, long-term care, substance abuse and racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care. He was formerly a professor and director of long-term care studies in the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Capitman has conducted research on increasing the participation of elders in health and long-term care decisions, supporting informal caregivers for persons with disabilities, and limiting sales of alcohol and tobacco products to minors. He has taught and wrote about how social location influences health and the use of health services. He has published extensively in the areas of: financing, organization, and delivery of community long-term care. Capitman has had more than 20 years of experience in health policy research and analysis, including appointments at the Virginia Center on Aging, California Department of Health Services, Medical College of Virginia/ Virginia Commonwealth University and Brandeis University. He is currently working closely with university resources to develop a new option for graduate study in Health Policy and Administration in the existing Master of Public Health Program at California State University , Fresno. He will lead a health policy leadership program at Fresno State that will engage leaders from throughout the region in exploring opportunities to address regional health problems.

Susana De AndaCo-Executive Director & Co-Founder, Community Water Center

Susana is the Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Community Water Center, a non-profit organization based in Visalia, California, that works to ensure that all communities can have access to safe, clean and affordable drinking water. Susana is CWC’s seasoned community organizer who was recognized as one of twenty-one top young women leaders in the country by the Third Wave Foundation and has received numerous awards including the 2009 Petra Foundation Fellowship and in 2010 co-awarded the Carla Bard Advocacy Award from the Public Officials for Water and Environmental Reform (POWER), awarded to one water advocate in California each year. In addition to most recently highlighted as one of the “150 Fearless Women in the World” by Newsweek Magazine (2012) and as one of the “Women on Top” by Marie Claire magazine (2012). Susana currently sits on the Tulare County Water Commission and on the United Way of Tulare County Board of Directors. Susana earned a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara while completing a double major in Environmental Studies and Geography.

Veronica GaribayCo-Founder and Co-Director, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Based in the agriculturally rich San Joaquin and East Coachella Valleys Leadership Counsel works alongside the most impacted communities to advocate for sound policy and eradicate injustice to secure equal access to opportunity regardless of wealth, race, income, and place. Areas of focus include land use, funding and financing schemes, natural resources, environmental justice, municipal services, civil rights and government transparency. Prior to launching Leadership Counsel, Veronica led the California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. (CRLA)’s advocacy efforts in the San Joaquin Valley to ensure equitable land use planning in rural communities, access to basic services such as safe and affordable drinking water and waste water service, and access to public transit. Her work has focused on developing and maintaining meaningful community engagement in land use and investment decisions at the state, regional and local levels. Veronica immigrated from Michoacan, Mexico at a young age along with her parents and four siblings to the City of Parlier in Fresno County. She grew up in this small farmworker town and graduated from Parlier Unified District Schools. As a first generation student, Veronica attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Law and Society in 2008. Upon graduation, Veronica joined the CRLA’s Community Equity Initiative (CEI) as the programs first Community Worker. While at CRLA Veronica earned a Master of Public Administration from Fresno State.

Henry T. Perea represents the 31st District in the California State Assembly, which includes the Central Valley communities of Caruthers, Coalinga, Firebaugh, Fowler, Huron, Kingsburg, Kerman, Laton, Lanare, Mendota, Orange Cove, Parlier, Riverdale, Reedley, Sanger, San Joaquin, Selma and the city of Fresno. He was elected to California State Assembly in November 2010 and is currently serving his second term in the legislature. Assemblymember Perea is a tireless advocate for working families and has authored several bills to improve the lives of people living in underserved areas of our state, including many pieces of legislation aimed at bringing clean drinking water to rural communities in California. As a co-founder of the Latino Water Coalition, Assemblymember Perea is working to find an equitable solution to the water problems facing California that will benefit the Central Valley. Perea was elected to the Fresno City Council in November 2002 at the Age of 25, becoming the youngest person ever elected to this position. He was re-elected to serve a second term in 2006, and served as the council president in 2007. He began his career in public service with an internship in the Washington, DC office of Congressman Cal Dooley, moving up to district representative working on defense spending, economic development, Latino outreach and helping both municipalities and non-profits secure federal funding. Perea continued his career in public service working with the Fresno Council President, contributing to the process of securing the city’s federally designated empowerment zone.

Isabel Solorio is the President of Community United in Lanare. Isabel immigrated from Mexico to the United States in search of the American dream and to seek a better future. After years of hard work in farm labor, Isabel and her husband Gerardo Solorio purchased their first home in Lanare in the early 1990s. They are dedicated community members who actively work to improve conditions in their community and help build Lanare into a healthy and vibrant community.

Isabel and her neighbors founded Community United in Lanare, with a mission of improving the quality of life in Lanare by advocating at local and state levels for basic services provided in other communities, such as access to safe drinking water, a public wastewater system, and investment in the community for land use planning, housing, complete streets, and lighting. They created and maintain the Lanare Community Center and manage a park, and they host regular dinner-dance fundraisers to pay for the operation and maintenance of the park and Community Center. Community United in Lanare works In partnership with Leadership Counsel on their advocacy initiatives, and also partners with the Fresno Community Food Bank to coordinate monthly food distributions that feed over 250 families at the community center.

MODERATOR:

Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning news anchor and reporter for PBS and NPR, who covers America’s untold stories and highlights today’s critical issues. As the anchor and executive producer of long-running weekly NPR show Latino USA, and anchor for PBS’ NEED TO KNOW series and the talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One from WGBH/La Plaza, she has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. In her over 25 years as a journalist, she also worked for CNN, and was a senior correspondent at NOW on PBS. In April 2010, Hinojosa created The Futuro Media Group, a multi-platform nonprofit production company based in Harlem with the mission to give critical voice to the social and civic justice issues facing the diverse new America. Hinojosa has reported hundreds of important stories—from the immigrant work camps in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to teen girl victims of sexual harassment on the job, to stories of the poor in Alabama. She has received numerous awards for her work including: four Emmys; the 2012 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism; Robert F. Kennedy Award for Reporting on the Disadvantaged; the Studs Terkel Community Media Award; the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club for best documentary for her groundbreaking “Child Brides: Stolen Lives”; and many more. She was born in Mexico City, raised in Chicago, and received her BA from Barnard College. She lives with her husband, artist German Perez, and their son and daughter in Harlem. Learn more

LISTEN to the related radio story which ran on Latino USA:
Most people take clean drinking water for granted, but in the rural town of Lanare, California, the residents are fighting for it. Alice Daniel reports about this community’s ongoing struggle for one of life’s most basic resources.

TIME:2 – 4 pmincluding tastingsWHERE:Trinity Lutheran Church, 759 Linden Ave, Long Beach, CA 90813PARTNER AND HOST:This event was part of a series of free public Latino USA events on health in California.
Interpretation provided into Spanish. Un intérprete estará disponible.

Looking for a place to get healthy food in Long Beach? Check out our “Healthy Food Map” of Long Beach, created by teens from Change Agent Productions and the Greater Long Beach YMCA. (Click to expand map.)

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Is your neighborhood heavy on fast food chains and liquor stores and light on fresh fruit and vegetables? What makes it hard for you to purchase and prepare nutritious food? What makes it easier? Is it difficult to find stores selling healthy food, or are fruit and vegetables too expensive? Do you have little time to cook—or don’t know how? And, is there more to cooking than nutrition?

You want your kids—and the whole family—to be healthy. Culinary traditions have deep cultural ties. Cooking meals together feeds many types of hunger. When you eat together, you connect with your family, friends, and community and enrich life in many ways.

Long Beach Eats! The Opposite of Fast Food explores the relationship between food, family, community, and culture—and features cooking demonstrations and delicious tastings by accomplished Thai and Mexican chefs (each also a successful business owner!). Even if it takes time, cooking and eating together is a dying art that pays off in multiple ways.

This event also brings together community gardens, farmers markets, food justice organizations, and other Long Beach resources for healthy living. You might even learn how to sell your own goods at farmers markets!

Hosted by award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa and featuring guest chefs Su-Mei Yu of KPBS’ Savor San Diego cooking show and Saffron San Diego restaurants and Carolina Santos of Tamales Oaxaqueño in Oakland. Together we’ll explore the opportunities and challenges of eating well in Long Beach!

Listen to the radio story featuring Carolina Santos:

Carolina Santos and her mother, Rosa Oliva, make tamales, tacos, and all sorts of other food for office workers and other clients, who are usually in San Francisco. But in West Oakland, California, where they live, the corner stores that exist offer little of the fresh produce they have access to in the food business. Maria Hinojosa spends a day with them and brings us her report.

SPEAKERS/GUEST CHEFS

Su-Mei Yu opened Saffron’s first location, Thai Grilled Chicken, in 1985 on India Street. With a focus on take-out dining, this small eatery captures the authenticity of popular street vendors in Bangkok. Due to the overwhelming success of the chicken shop, Yu opened her second Saffron location, Noodles and Saté, right next door, modeling the concept after the numerous small and informal take-out noodle restaurants found throughout Thailand. Both locations attract throngs of people and are widely recognized as some of San Diego’s premier Thai eateries.

Su-Mei Yu’s Thai heritage guided her to develop her brand of Thai food. Today, she annually returns to her homeland to research and collect recipes of traditional, authentic foods and methods of preparation.

Yu has demonstrated cooking on Martha Stewart Living, Home Cooking on PBS, Home Matters, Cooking Live on the Food Network, Good Morning America and Today Show, and is host of her own show, Savor San Diego on KPBS. She is a regular guest commentator for San Diego National Public Radio and has lectured at the American Institute of Wine and Food, The Culinary Historians of Southern California, The Culinary Institute of America and The International Association of Culinary Professionals. Her recipes have appeared in Food & Wine Magazine, Martha Stewart, Fine Cooking and many other national as well as local publications. Learn moreCarolina Santos | Owner & Chef, Tamales La Oaxaqueña

Tamales La Oaxaqueña is a small family business in West Oakland, which uses traditional family recipes from Oaxaca. Carolina and her mother Rosa Oliva are the owners and chefs of the highly well regarded Tamales La Oaxaqueña, through which they share the fresh delicious foods of Oaxaca with their customers. Their recipes are not only healthy, they also contribute to the cultural milieu of the community. One of the main ingredients in their authentic moles and tamales is passion, and they are passionate about the richness of their culture and their food. In Oaxaca making mole and tamales is a ritual, and all the ingredients are just as important as the love that goes into making the food. Learn more

MODERATOR

Maria Hinojosa | CEO & President, The Futuro Media Group

Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning news anchor and reporter for PBS and NPR, who covers America’s untold stories and highlights today’s critical issues. As the anchor and executive producer of long-running weekly NPR show Latino USA, and anchor for PBS’ NEED TO KNOW series and the talk show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One from WGBH/La Plaza, she has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. In her over 25 years as a journalist, she also worked for CNN, and was a senior correspondent at NOW on PBS.

In April 2010, Hinojosa created The Futuro Media Group, a multi-platform nonprofit production company based in Harlem with the mission to give critical voice to the social and civic justice issues facing the diverse new America. Hinojosa has reported hundreds of important stories—from the immigrant work camps in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, to teen girl victims of sexual harassment on the job, to stories of the poor in Alabama. She has received numerous awards for her work including: four Emmys; the 2012 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism; Robert F. Kennedy Award for Reporting on the Disadvantaged; the Studs Terkel Community Media Award; the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club for best documentary for her groundbreaking “Child Brides: Stolen Lives”; and many more.

She was born in Mexico City, raised in Chicago, and received her BA from Barnard College. She lives with her husband, artist German Perez, and their son and daughter in Harlem. Learn more

It’s not just Latinos who are hoping the government shutdown ends and Congress can get back to work on immigration reform. The business community, and in particular the tech sector, wants to see legislation too. Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel and executive vice president, talks with Maria Hinojosa about why he cares about immigration reform. He discusses how essential immigrant workers are for the tech sector, and the American economy as a whole.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

And check out the extended interview here:

Brad Smith is Microsoft’s general counsel and executive vice president, Legal and Corporate Affairs. He joined Microsoft in 1993, and before becoming general counsel in 2002 he spent three years leading the LCA team in Europe, then five years serving as the deputy general counsel responsible for LCA’s teams outside the United States. He has played a leadership role locally and nationally on numerous charitable, diversity, business and legal initiatives. He recently was named by the National Law Journal as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in the United States.

While immigration reform is stalled in Congress, over 1,000 people are deported each day. This human cost of inaction from legislators has spurred immigrant advocates to up the ante on the fight for immigrant rights. Latino USA talks with organizers about why – and how- they continue to push for action.

Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Jonathan Wolfe contributed reporting to this story.

Israel Rodrigues Rubio is one of 30 DREAMers –undocumented youth brought to the US as children – who crossed the border on September 30th, 2013 as an act of civil disobedience organized by the National Immigrant Youth Alliance. He grew up in Durham, Nort Carolina and is a graduate of Columbia University. Despite all his successes, Israel’s undocumented status limited him in pursuing his dreams. By 2011, being a couple of months away from graduation, Israel settled on leaving for Mexico. In Mexico City, Israel had trouble integrating into a society he barely knew and was surrounded by increasing violence and political instability. In 2013 He decided he wanted to return to his family in the US.

David Wolfe Leopold is the founder and principal of David Wolfe Leopold & Associates Co. LPA. Mr. Leopold is the past president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA www.aila.org), the premier bar association of immigration lawyers and professors in the U.S. He has served as AILA’s top liaison to the Department of Homeland Security’s key enforcement bureaus and co-founded the American Immigration Council’s Litigation Institute, a hands-on continuing legal education program focused on federal immigration litigation.

Gabriela Flora is the Regional Project Voice Organizer of the American Friends Service Committee, Colorado. The organization is part of the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, which succeeded in its fight to repeal SB-90, Colorado’s copycat Arizona-style show-me-your-papers law in 2012. In 2013 the Coalition had another victory – the approval of a law allowing for undocumented immigrants to access drivers’ licenses.

Pablo Alvarado is an immigrant worker from El Salvador. In 2002, Alvarado became the national coordinator of the newly created National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), currently a collaboration of about three dozen community-based day laborer organizations. Under his guidance, NDLON works with local governments to help establish worker centers to move job seekers into places of safety.

In our ongoing feature on news literacy, we look at the talking heads who yell on television. A group of young journalists and media consumers teach us the best way to follow important news stories, and to see what’s behind all the screaming and yelling.

Having trouble taking the quiz on your mobile device? Go to the quiz directly here.

Elisha Fieldstadt is a news junkie who thinks she’s incredibly fortunate to work in an industry she is so passionate about. She is editor-in-chief of Baruch’s Dollars & Sense magazine and an intern at NBCNews.com. She is also the creator of Veganthropology.wordpress.com and a contributing writer for BoomPopMedia.com. In her very little bit of spare time she does yoga, bikes, cooks, bakes and explores Manhattan, where she has lived for five years. You can follow her @el_fields.Juan Jara is a senior in high school and the photographer for the North Star online newspaper. He hopes to be a film director someday and cannot wait to start his first feature film.

Anam Baig is the copy chief for The Ticker at Baruch College in New York City.

Spanish language media has been around since the 19th Century but still struggles for respect from the rest of the media world. Maria Hinojosa speaks with Rossanna Rosado, publisher of New York’s El Diario La Prensa. The celebrated newspaper celebrates its centenary this year.

Photo courtesy of Flickr

And listen to Rosanna talk more about her experiences as a groundbreaking Latina journalist, and the history of Spanish-language media in the US, in the extended interview below:

Rossana Rosado has been a dominant force in New York media for 27 years. Using her Journalism degree from Pace University, she started as a City Hall reporter at El Diario La Prensa. She left the newspaper to join WPIX, Inc. as a Producer of Public A‑ airs programming. After rejoining El Diario La Prensa in 1995, she held the esteemed position of Editor in Chief, being the first woman to hold that position at the now 95 year old paper.

Most people take clean drinking water for granted, but in the rural town of Lanare, California, the residents are fighting for it. Alice Daniel reports about this community’s ongoing struggle for one of life’s most basic resources.

Photo by Alice Daniel

Alice Daniel writes about agriculture, immigrant issues and more in California’s Great Central Valley for KQED’s The California Report. She is also a frequent contributor to Success magazine and she teaches journalism at California State University, Fresno.

Maria Hinojosa talks to musician Robi Draco Rosa about his fight against cancer, his life as a former child performer, and his latest album “Vida,” which features performers like Ricky Martin and Shakira. The former Menudo heartthrob gives insight into his view on life’s struggles and how they are reflected in his art. He is now launching his first tour since his illness.

Photo courtesy Digital Girl Inc.

Draco Rosa (born June 27, 1969), also known as Robi Draco Rosa and Robby Rosa, is a Puerto Rican Grammy Award winning musician, dancer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. Born as Robert Edward Rosa Suárez on Long Island, New York and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico, he originally garnered fame as a member of boy band Menudo in the 1980s. As co-writer and co-producer of many of Ricky Martin’s hits in English and in Spanish, he created the framework for the revolution in bilingual music careers that continue to dominate the charts to the present day. His latest album, Vida, is truly a celebration of life. He recorded it after he announced in 2011 that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

For a few words of wisdom this week, we turn to the luchadores, the masked wrestlers of Mexico. Jasmine Garsd brings us the words of one fighter who’s been combating opponents in the ring, and homophobia in society. This luchador is part of Los Exóticos, a group of fighters in drag based in Mexico City.

Jasmine Garsd was born in Argentina and hosts NPR’s Alt.Latino podcast. As a journalist she’s worked on the NPR programs Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation and Tell Me More. She has covered a wide variety of topics for radio including immigration issues.

This November 1st, Americans receiving food stamps will have a little less to eat. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, was expanded during the recession as part of the 2009 Stimulus Package. Food stamp enrollment in the US has doubled between 2007 and now, from 26 million to 48 million people. But on November 1st, this expansion is set to expire, and millions of Americans will see their benefits reduced. Meanwhile, Congress is considering further cuts to the program. Producer Diana Montaño talks to New Yorkers to see how these cuts will affect them.

Photo by Latino USA

Diana Montaño is a Mexico City-born, East Coast-raised producer for Latino USA. Before coming on board, she worked as an editor at the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia and as an associate producer with Radio Bilingüe in California. Diana has also taught video production to immigrant and refugee youth in Oakland, and to young indigenous women in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. She is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism